Life in a web of deals

Whether it is jewellery, games or even spas, everything is available at a discount on special deal websites. But, don’t become a victim of bargain shopping.

Utkal Patra was excited when he came across a game arcade offer — ‘a steal’ in his words — on a deal website. “DealsAndYou was offering Rs 1,000 vouchers for only Rs 200,” gushes the self-confessed gaming addict.

‘Buy in wholesale for Rs X discount’ is a common advertisement, and applicable to most purchases, including grocery. But when a website uses the same strategy to catch eyeballs and attract customers, it is a different ball game. A number of websites — Taggle, Snapdeal, Grabbon, DealsAndYou and Koovs — are doing exactly this. There are all kinds of deals, from phones and games to spas and food & beverages.

They have various offers, especially for foodies like Akriti Agrawal, who recently shifted to Delhi. “I can try out different food joints at a discounted price through these websites,” says Agarwal.

Modus operandi
Simply put, these websites put up ‘deals’, a discount offered by merchants on services and products, for a limited period, usually 24-72 hours. Typically, a minimum of 50 per cent discount is offered.

But there have to be a minimum number of people, usually five to 10 or 20, before a deal can go live. When any deal goes ‘live’, it means it is made available as a minimum number of purchases has been made.

Sometimes even high-value deals like sale of diamond jewellery and medical health check-ups are on offer. For instance, recently, Koovs offered a medical health check-up worth Rs 3,500 from Nova Medical Facility for Rs 795 only.

As website deals are still a growing market, they are available only in select metros.

Payment
A question that stumped Patra while he was willing to give his card details and be one of the buyers was: What if the deal did not go live. “How will I claim the money?,” he wondered.

“We only take a pre-authorisation on your card. So, if the deal does not go live, the money is not debited. The card is charged the moment the deal goes live,” explains John Kuruvilla, CEO & founder, Taggle Internet Ventures.

This, perhaps, is a deterrent for many potential customers. As Guneet Singh, director & co-founder, DealsAndYou, says, “Indian customers are still wary of pre-authorisation.”

Hence, there is an alternative. To quell fear among customers like Patra, there is a ‘cash on delivery’ option. The deal voucher is delivered within a maximum of three working days of the purchase.

The fine print
Each deal mentions the highlights as well the fine print. Such details as the validity period, service taxes and multiple vouchers are mentioned. Reading these details carefully can ensure that you don’t discover any hidden costs later.

There are other benefits as well. Referrals give you a ‘cash’ incentive of Rs 100-500, depending on the number of purchases made. This cash gets added to your account, redeemable against a deal later.

A word of caution: “Bargain shopping can be addictive. One keeps buying, thinking that these things will be useful. But many a times, they don’t have the time to do so,” says Patra. Quite a useful piece of suggestion from the 29-year-old.